


fatigued

by IronSwordStarShield (SweetFanfics)



Series: 616 Stony Bingo 2019 [3]
Category: Marvel 616
Genre: M/M, Pining Steve Rogers, post-mission moment, stop avoiding your own damn feelings steve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2019-08-26
Packaged: 2020-09-27 09:35:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20405566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetFanfics/pseuds/IronSwordStarShield
Summary: He almost jumps out of his skin when he feels something heavy press against his left side. Steve’s head turns to see what was Tony doing and realizes that his friend just fell asleep on him. Blinking in surprise, Steve stares down at the dark head resting on his shoulders and thinks, that can’t be comfortable.





	fatigued

**Author's Note:**

> A random little drabble based in some vague point in A.v4 like idk what to tell y’all. I'm following Lore's most excellent advice and hitting two birds with one stone. This idea was originally inspired by [this lovely fanart by rinnirrinnir.](https://ironswordandstarshield.tumblr.com/post/187278013661/rinnirrinnir-stony)
> 
> And then I realized, hey! Lets also try to mark more one square off our 616 bingo card and after a wee bit of Googling to find out who was on the Avengers V4 team /jazz hands/ _ ta-dan~_.

Steve leans back against the cool metal walls of the Quinjet and exhales. He’s surprised his weariness doesn’t come out of him like a puff of gray dust. It’s been a trying few days where every two-bit villain has been crawling out of the wood works to raise hell. It wouldn’t be that bad if the Avengers weren’t being called out twice a day without getting much time to rest. He knows he can handle it, Super Soldier Serum and all, but this whole thing was starting to take its toll on the others.

Logan's flying the jet with a white-knuckled grip and far too much focus, red-rimmed eyes flying between the different numbers displayed on the dashboard. You know shit is bad when even _Logan _was struggling with sleep deprivation. In the co-pilot’s seat, Carol’s literally nodding off. Her blonde head keeps dipping but every time her chin would touch her chest she jerks back awake, wide eyes flying around her in surprise.

In their part of the jet, they’ve broken off into two groups - there’s him, Tony, and Thor, and across from them there’s Spider Man, Spider Woman, and Clint. The first to have his wounds tended, Clint had passed out as soon as Spider Man was done wrapping him up. Spider Woman had opted to curl up into a ball in the corner seat and take a nap, claiming she wasn’t hurt. Peter had given up half-way through bandaging his wounds, slapping a couple of clumsy butterfly bandages on the cuts on his face before tipping into Clint’s shoulder with a tired moan.

Steve turns his head to see how Thor is doing. He’s awake but he doesn’t look too pleased about it. He’s contemplatively rubbing mjolnir, eyes half-mast. Steve wonders, _if there’s another call and it’s not too serious, maybe me and Thor can wrap it up ourselves. _Thor yawns widely, covering his open mouth with the back of his hand before he swallows and tries to shake the lethargy away. _Or maybe now. Maybe me and Tony could- _

He almost jumps out of his skin when he feels something heavy press against his left side. Steve’s head turns to see _what _was Tony doing and realizes that his friend just fell asleep on him. Blinking in surprise, Steve stares down at the dark head resting on his shoulders and thinks, _that can’t be comfortable._

Tony’s long hair has fallen out of its usual slicked back look. The long strands of hair fall fetchingly over the handsome man’s face, making him look like a movie star from the 40′s. It makes Steve’s throat dry up. How many people can say they’ve seen Tony when he’s not making the effort, you know? When he’s exhausted and his van dyke is turning into a messy beard. How many more people can say that Tony’s fallen asleep in their presence? Steve’s heart glows with pride and fondness as he shifts, as gently as he can, to wrap his arm around Tony’s shoulders because its not comfortable to use Steve’s uniform as a pillow (Trust him on that).

Tony’s breathing remains steady as Steve shifts them both. _He must be more tired than I thought_, Steve thinks with a mildly guilty pang. Tony’s been standing at the front-lines since this damn circus began. Hell, he’s been the one flying Steve to the scene every time as well, making sure they got there first. He’s probably the one person most worn down when you take into account he’s been trying to figure out a pattern in these seemingly random attacks instead of sleeping.

Steve feels the simultaneous urge to slap Tony up his head in annoyance and kiss his forehead with gratitude. _Idiot_, Steve thinks fondly as Tony's chest rises and fall steadily; Tony’s nose scrunches when a few strands of hair tickle his nose. Biting down a smile, Steve uses his free hand rises to sweep the hair back over Tony’s ear. It sends a little shiver through Tony’s body that Steve tells himself not to think about. The same way he doesn’t think about how if he turned his face a little more to the left, his lips would press against Tony’s forehead in a k-

Pursing his lips together, Steve forces himself to think of how he can make Tony more comfortable. _Should take the helmet out of his hands. _Despite the fact that he’s asleep sitting up, Tony’s hands are still hanging onto the helmet in his lap. The grip is lax when Steve gently tugs it away, holding it in place on the floor with his feet as he helps Tony lie down on the seats, armor and all. The seats creak a little but they hold as Tony immediately turns onto his side and tucks his nose into the crease of Steve’s thigh with a little sight. 

_That _births _all kinds _of reactions in Steve’s body. His dick does something Steve _doesn’t _focus on, his mouth goes dry, his entire fucking body tries to either merge into the wall or phase through it, and his hand spasms against Tony’s shoulder. None the wiser of the storm he’s just unleashed in Steve, Tony slumbers on, a wheezy little snore passing through his lips with every inhale.

_Fuck_, Steve thinks breathlessly as he stares at Tony’s head (so close and yet so far from where he-). _The things you do to me. And you don’t even fucking know, do you Tony? _

Gingerly, Steve places his hand on top of Tony’s head, eyes darting around at the others to confirm that no one’s paying attention (even Thor has fallen asleep now), and begins to run his fingers through Tony’s hair. It’s starting to get a little greasy now. _He mustn’t have had time to clean up after the last fight, _Steve realizes when he finds small pieces of debris in Tony’s hair.

It’s a stolen moment that no one’s going to know about. This is just for him to enjoy; a forbidden treat he's going to tuck away into the darkest corners of his mind where he keeps desires and wants he doesn't dare allow himself to even _think _about. Where there's so many thoughts involving Tony stashed away, so many memories of waking up from incredibly vivid dreams that won't ever come true...

_What if someone wakes up and asks what’s Tony’s head doing in your lap?_ A voice fearfully inquires. _What if Tony wakes up and asks? _A shameful flush heats the back of his neck because the answer comes too fast and it's cowardly in the way it avoids the truth._ We’ll say that he just fell asleep like this when I fell asleep._

  
For that to work, he needs to pretend he’s asleep too. Which means, he has to stop stroking Tony’s hair. With a regretful little sigh, Steve drops his hand on Tony’s shoulder and closes his eyes, listening to the sound of Tony’s breathing, the electrical whine of his arc reactor, the subtle crackle that’s always coming off mjolnir, Jessica’s gentle breathing.

Before Steve knows it, he’s dozed off as well.


End file.
